Prosecution Service Act of 2010 Overview
Prosecution Service Act of 2010 Overview
Fourteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-seventh day of July, two thousand nine.
Section 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Prosecution Service Act of 2010."
Section 2. Scope. - The constituent offices herein covered shall include the Prosecution Staff and
the Regional, Provincial and City Prosecution Offices under the Secretary of Justice, that compose
the National Prosecution Service as created and established in the succeeding sections.
Section 3. Creation of the National Prosecution Service. - There is hereby created and established a
National Prosecution Service to be composed of the prosecution staff in the Office of the Secretary
of Justice and such number of regional prosecution offices, offices of the provincial prosecutor and
offices of the prosecutor as are hereinafter Provided, which shall be primarily responsible for the
preliminary investigation and prosecution of all cases involving violations of penal laws under the
supervision of the Secretary of Justice, subject to the provisions of Sections 4, 5 and 7 hereof.
Section 4. Power of the Secretary of Justice. - The power vested in the Secretary of Justice includes
authority to act directly on any matter involving national security or a probable miscarriage of Justice
within the jurisdiction of the prosecution staff, regional prosecution office, and the provincial
prosecutor or the city prosecutor and to review, reverse, revise, modify or affirm on appeal or petition
for review as the law or the rules of the Department of Justice (DOJ) may provide, final judgements
and orders of the prosecutor general, regional prosecutors, provincial prosecutors, and city
prosecutors.
For purposes of determining the cases which may be acted on, directly by the Secretary of Justice,
the phrase "national security" shall refer to crimes against national security as Provided under the
Penal Code, Book II, Title 1, and other cases involving acts of terrorism as defined under the Human
Security Act under Republic Act No. 9372.
Section 5. The Prosecution Staff and its Functions. - There shall be in the Office of the Secretary of
Justice a prosecution staff that shall be composed of prosecuting officers in such number as herein
below determined. It shall be headed by a Prosecutor General who shall be assisted by the
following:
The Prosecution Staff, which shall be under the control and supervision of the Secretary of Justice,
shall have the following functions:
(1) Assist the secretary of Justice in the exercise of his/her appelate jurisdiction;
(2) Conduct the preliminary investigation and prosecution of criminal cases involving
national security, those for which task forces have been created and criminal cases
whose venues are transferred to avoid miscarriage of justice, all when so directed by
the Secretary of Justice as public interest may require;
(3) Act as counsel for the People of the Philippines in any case involving or arising
from a criminal complaint investigated by any of its prosecutors and pending before
any trial court;
(5) Prepare legal opinions on queries involving violations of the Revised Penal Code
and special penal laws; and
(6) Monitor all criminal cases filed with the Office of the Prosecutor General; maintain
an updated record of the status of each case, and adopt such systems and
procedures as will expedite the monitoring and disposition of cases.
The Prosecutor General and Senior Deputy State Prosecutors shall act as a Selection and
Promotion Board to screen for appointment or promotion to any prosecutorial position in the Office of
the Prosecutor General. The regional prosecutor, provincial prosecutor or city prosecutor shall sit as
a member of the Board whenever it considers applicants for positions in his/her office. The
Prosecutor General shall be the chairperson of the Board.
Section 6. Regional Prosecution Office. - There shall be at each administrative region, except the
National Capital Region (NCR), a Regional Prosecution Office to be headed by a Regional
Prosecutor who shall be assisted by one (1) Deputy Regional Prosecutor, one (1) Senior Assistant
Regional Prosecutor, three (3) Assistant Regional Prosecutors, and one (1) Prosecution Attorney.
For purposes of this regionalization, the NCR shall be placed under the administrative supervision of
the Prosecutor General.
Section 7. Powers and Functions of the Regional Prosecutor. - The Regional Prosecutor shall,
under the control and supervision of the Secretary of Justice, have the following powers and
functions:
(a) Implement policies, plans, programs, memoranda, orders, circulars and rules and
regulations of the DOJ relative to the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases
in his/her region;
(b) Exercise immediate administrative supervision over all provincial and city
prosecutors and other prosecuting officers for provinces and cities comprised within
his/her region;
(d) When so delegated by the Secretary of Justice, resolve with finality appeals from
or petitions for review of judgements and orders of provincial and city prosecutors
and their assistants within the region in cases where the offenses charged are
cognizable by the municipal trial court. This notwithstanding, the Secretary of Justice
is not precluded from exercising his power or review over such resolutions of the
regional Prosecutor in instances where lies grave abuse of discretion on the part of
the Regional Prosecutor, and from determining the extent of the coverage of the
power of review of the Regional Prosecutors;
(e) Designate a prosecutor from any office of the provincial or city prosecutor within
the region as Acting Provincial or City Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute a
case in instances where parties question the partiality or bias of a particular city or
provincial prosecutor or where the city or provincial prosecutor voluntarily inhibits
himself/herself by reason of relationship to any of the parties within the sixth (6th)
civil degree of consanguinity or affinity;
(f) With respect to his/her regional office and the offices of the provincial and city
prosecutors within his region, he/she shall:
(2) Approve requests for sick, vacation and maternity and other kinds of
leaves, with or without pay, for a period not exceeding one (1) year, for
overtime services; for permission to exercise their profession or to engage in
business outside of office hours; for official travel within the region for periods
not exceeding thirty (30) days; and for claims and benefits under existing
laws;
(3) Exercise immediate administrative supervision over all provincial and city
prosecutors, their assistants and all other prosecuting officers of the
provinces and cities within his/her region;
(6) Prepare the budget for the region for approval of the Secretary of Justice
and administer the same;
(8) Negotiate and conclude contracts for services or for furnishing supplies,
materials and equipment and the likes within the budgetary limits set for the
region;
(9) Within his/her region, monitor the submission of all reports as may be
required by the Secretary of Justice;
(10) Coordinate with the regional offices of other departments, bureaus and
agencies of the government and with local governments units in the region;
and
(11) perform such other duties and functions as may be Provided by law or
as may further be delegated by the Secretary of Justice.
Section 8. The Provincial Prosecutor or City Prosecutor. - There still be for each province or city a
Provincial Prosecutor or city Prosecutor, as the case may be, who shall be assisted by at least one
(1) Deputy Provincial Prosecutor or Deputy City Prosecutor and such number of assistant and
associate prosecutors as provided for hereinafter. Provided, however, That whenever a new
province or city is created, it shall have a provincial prosecutor or city prosecutor, a deputy provincial
prosecutor or deputy city prosecutor and such number of assistant and associate prosecutors as
there are court branches therein at the ratio of two (2) prosecutors for each branch of regional trial
court, one (1) prosecutor for each branch of metropolitan trial court or municipal trial court in cities,
and one (1) prosecutor for every two (2) municipal trial courts in municipalities or branches thereof
municipal circuit trial courts.
Upon the establishment of the new province or city, position items of Prosecutor of the Office of the
Provincial Prosecutor for the mother province in excess of the new equivalent pursuant to the ratio
established above for the courts or branches thereof that remained to be served by the office shall
be transferred automatically to the Office of the provincial Prosecutor or Office of the City Prosecutor
for the new province or city, as the case may be: Provided, further, That when all or almost all of the
regional trial court branches are seated at the city, the number of prosecutors for the city shall be
proportional to the territorial jurisdiction covered by such branches of the courts.
In case a province is reverted to the mother province or a city is reconverted into a municipality for
whatever reason, all the prosecution position items of the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor or
Office of the City Prosecutor shall go to the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor for the mother
province: Provided, however, That the position title provincial prosecutor or city prosecutor for the
former province or city shall be changed to Assistant Provincial Prosecutor or Associate Prosecutor,
as the case may be, and shall have the corresponding rank provided in Section 15.
When the exigencies of the service so require, a province or city may create positions for special
counsels whose salaries and other emoluments shall come exclusively from local funds.
Section 9. Powers and Functions of the Provincial Prosecutor or City Prosecutor. - The provincial
prosecutor shall:
(a) Be the law officer of the province or city, as the case may be:
(c) Have charge of the prosecution of all crimes, misdemeanors and violations of city
or municipal ordinances in the courts at the province or city and therein discharge all
the duties incident to the institution of criminal actions, subject to the provisions of
second paragraph of Section 5 hereof.
Section 10. Office of the Provincial Prosecutor Number of Prosecutors in Each Province. - There
shall be for each of the following provinces the corresponding number of provincial prosecutor and
his/her deputies, assistants and associates:
(t) Zambales; Oriental Mindoro; Masbate; Sorsogon; Southern Leyte; Capiz; Tawi-
tawi: (11)
(u) Tarlac; Occidental Mindoro; Palawan; Surigao del Norte; Agusan Del Norte;
Maguindanao: (10)
(x) Mt. Province; Marinduque; Catanduanes; Zamboanga Sibugay; Agusan del Sur;
South Cotabato: (7)
(z) Batanes; Kalinga; Apayao; Camiguin; Basilan; Davao del Norte; Sarangani; (4)
After the approval of this Act, there shall be for each province one (1) deputy provincial prosecutor
for every twenty-five (25) prosecutors of a fraction thereof. When an office of the provincial
prosecutor has more than one (1) deputy provincial prosecutor, the incumbent deputy provincial
prosecutor first appointed shall be called senior deputy provincial prosecutor.
Section 11. Office of the City Prosecutor. Number of Prosecutor for Each City. - There shall be for
each of the following cities the corresponding number of City Prosecutor and his/her deputies,
assistants and associates.
(x) Laoag: San Fernando (La Union); Tuguegarao; Lucena; Iriga; Roxas: (14)
(cc) San Jose Del Monte: San Pablo: Masbate: Mandaue: (9)
(ii) Palayan; Science City of Munoz; Sta. Rosa; Tagaytay; Trece Martirez; Passi;
Bago; Cadiz; Himamaylan; Kabankalan; La Carlota; Silay; Sagay; Danao; Toledo;
Bais; Bayawan; Canlaon; Tanjay; Maasin; Dapitan; Isabela; Tangub; Panabo; Island
Garden City of Samal; Bislig; Tacurong: (3)
One (1) City Prosecutor
After the approval of this Act, there shall be for each city one (1 deputy city prosecutor for every
twenty-five (25) prosecutors or a fraction thereof. When an Office of the City Prosecutor has more
than one (1) deputy city prosecutor, the incumbent deputy city prosecutor first appointed shall be
called senior deputy city prosecutor first appointed shall be called senior deputy city prosecutor.
Section 12. Realignment of the Position Items. - Upon the approval of this Act, the Prosecutor
General shall transfer vacant excess position items of prosecutors to the cities within the province or
to the province of which the cities used to be municipalities or to other cities within the province:
Provided, however, That if the position items are occupied , they shall be transferred as soon as they
become vacant or when the incumbent prosecutors consent to their transfer.
When new cities or provinces are created and court branch seats are realigned or redistributed, the
Secretary of Justice shall correspondingly realign position items of prosecutors to the new cities or
provinces from the provinces where cities are located or the provinces used to be part of, without
prejudice to the provision of Section 8 hereof.
After the approval of this Act, branches of the Regional Trial Court that are seated t the city and
hitherto try and hear criminal cases filed by either the office of the provincial prosecutor or office of
the city prosecutor shall proportionally divide themselves into branches where criminal and other
cases filed , and those to be prosecuted and or defended by the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor
shall be exclusively raffled to, tried and heard, and branches where criminal and other cases filed,
and those to be prosecuted or defended by the Office of the City Prosecutor shall be exclusively
raffled to, tried and heard. Upon such division, the Secretary of Justice shall also realign position
items of prosecutor of the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor and the Office of the City Prosecutor
affected.
Section 13. Automatic Creation of Positions of Prosecutor. - Whenever new courts or branches
thereof are created, there shall be automatically created for the province or city where such courts or
branches are seated positions of assistant and associate prosecutors in such number determined
pursuant to the ratio established in Section 8 hereof: Provided, however, That if the branches of a
regional trial court shall be seated at a city outside the metropolitan area established by law, the
number of positions shall be distributed between the city and the province where the city is located
according to the territorial jurisdiction covered by such branch: Provided, further, That in case the
branches created are of regional trial court, not less than one-half of the corresponding prosecutors
shall have the rank of Prosecutor III If the province or city has at least twenty-five (25) prosecutors,
including the additional, or the city is in a metropolitan area established by law, and the rest,
Prosecutor II; otherwise, they may have the ranks of Prosecutor II and Prosecutor I.
Section 14. Qualifications, Rank and Appointment of the Prosecutor General. - The Prosecutor
General shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary
grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments, and other privileges, shall be subject to the same
inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement and other benefits as those of
the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals and shall be appointed by the President.
Section 15. Ranks of Prosecutors. - The Prosecutors in the National Prosecution Service shall have
the following ranks:
RANK POSITION/TITLE
Prosecutor III (1) Senior Assistant State Prosecutors and Senior Assistant
Regional Prosecutors;
(2) Deputy Provincial or Deputy City Prosecutors of provinces
or cities with less than twenty- five (25) prosecutors; and
(3) Senior Assistant Provincial Prosecutors or Senior
Assistant City Prosecutors.
Whenever a province or city shall have had at least twenty-five (25) prosecutors or a city shall have
been made a part of a metropolitan area established by law, each level of the prosecution position
items of the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor or Office of the City Prosecutor thereof shall be
automatically upgraded one rank higher and shall have the corresponding position titles provided in
this section.
Section 16. Qualifications, Ranks, and Appointments of Prosecutors, and other Prosecution
Officers. - Prosecutor with the rank of Prosecutor V shall have the same qualification for
appointment, rank, category, prerogatives, salary grade, and salaries, allowances, and emoluments
and other privileges, shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy
the same retirement and other benefits as those of a n associate justice of the Court of Appeals.
Prosecutors with the rank of Prosecutor IV shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank,
category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments and other privileges,
shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement
and other benefit as those of a Judge of the Regional Trial Court.
Prosecutor with the rank of Prosecutor III shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank,
category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments and other privileges,
shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement
and other benefit as those of a Judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court.
Prosecutor with the rank of Prosecutor II shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank,
category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments and other privileges,
shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement
and other benefit as those of a Judge of the Municipal Trial Court in cities.
Prosecutor with the rank of Prosecutor III shall have the same qualifications for appointment, rank,
category, prerogatives, salary grade and salaries, allowances, emoluments and other privileges,
shall be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications, and shall enjoy the same retirement
and other benefit as those of a Judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court in municipalities.
Any increase after the approval of this Act in the salaries, allowances or retirement benefits or any
upgrading of the grades or levels thereof of any or all of the Justices or Judges referred to herein to
whom said emoluments are assimilated shall apply to the corresponding prosecutors.
All the above prosecutors shall be selected from among qualified and professionally trained
members of the legal profession who are of proven integrity and competence. They shall be
appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of Justice and
shall serve until they reach the age of sixty five (65) years old: Provided, however, That the ages of
"seventy (70) years" and "sixty-five (65) years" and the years of service "twenty (20) years" provided
in Republic Act No. 910, as amended, and other retirement laws for judges shall be understood as
"sixty-five (65) years" and "sixty (60) years," and fifteen (15) years," respectively, when applied to
prosecutors.
A prosecution attorney or special counsel shall be a member of the bar in good standing and shall
have a salary under Salary Grade 25. Such prosecution officer shall be appointed by the Secretary
of Justice: Provided, however, That with respect to a special counsel, his/her appointment shall be
upon the recommendation of the provincial governor or city mayor and with the endorsement of the
provincial prosecutor or city prosecutor, as the case may be.
Subject to Section 20 hereof, the salaries and allowances of regional, provincial and city prosecutors
and their assistants, and the members of the prosecution staff, including the prosecution attorneys,
shall be paid entirely out of national funds and included in the annual appropriations of the DOJ:
Provided, however, That this provision is without prejudice to the grant of allowances to the above-
mentioned prosecutors by their respective local governments in amounts not exceeding fifty percent
(50%) of their basic salaries; Provided, further, That the whole of the allowances or portion thereof,
whether granted by the national or local government shall be exempt from the income tax.
The salaries, allowances and other emoluments herein fixed shall not apply to officers other than
those of prosecutors in the National Prosecution Service, notwithstanding any provision of law
assimilating the salaries of other officers to those herein mentioned.
Section 17. Continuation in Office of Prosecutors. - Upon approval of this Act, the prosecuting
officers, including the prosecution attorneys, in the present prosecution staff shall continue in office
to discharge the functions under this Act, and the position titles Chief State Prosecutor and Assistant
Chief State Prosecutor are respectively renamed Prosecutor General and Senior Deputy State
Prosecutor. All prosecutors who have the ranks of Prosecutor III and Prosecutor II in the existing
prosecution staff shall be called Senior Assistant State Prosecutors and Assistant State Prosecutors,
respectively, under this Act.
The Regional, Provincial or City Prosecution Office established as teach of the regions, provinces or
cities pursuant to law is retained and renamed Regional Prosecution Office, Office of the Provincial
Prosecutor or Office if the City Prosecutor, as the case may be.
All regional, provincial and city prosecutors and their assistants shall continue in office to discharge
their functions under this Act.
All Assistant Prosecutor who have the ranks Prosecutor Iv, Prosecutor II, Prosecutor II and
Prosecutor I in each of the existing regional, provincial and city prosecution offices shall be known by
the position titles provided in Section 15 hereof: Provided, however, That in provinces or cities with
at least twenty-five (25) prosecutors and in cities within a metropolitan area established by law all
assistant prosecutors with the rank of Prosecutor I before the enactment of this Act shall be
upgraded to Prosecutor II upon the approval of this Act and shall bear the title Assistant Provincial
Prosecutor or Assistant City Prosecutor, as the case may be.
Section 18. No Demotion or Diminution of Salary. - Nothing in this Act shall be construed to demote
a prosecutor or to diminish his salary. In the event that all the incumbent prosecutors are not
accommodated by the number of position items allocated, the excess incumbents shall continue in
the service until they are accommodated, transferred or separated.
Section 19. No Undermining of Security of Tenure. - Nothing in this Act shall be construed to allow
the transfer, except as Provided herein or in case of temporary assignment, as public interest may
require, of any prosecutor to any place or station or to undermine the security of tenure of incumbent
prosecutors as provided in the laws. Such temporary assignment shall not exceed three (3) months
without his or her written consent. No Provincial Prosecutor or City Prosecutor shall be detailed or
assigned to another office or station, except in a concurrent capacity and with his or her written
consent. lawphil
Section 20. Special Allowances. - The special allowances granted to the members of the National
Prosecution Service under Republic Act No. 9279 shall continue to be given to them subject to the
provisions hereof: Provided, however, that the amount not supported by the funding source specified
in Section3 thereof to complete the equivalent of hundred percent (100%) of the basic salary shall be
paid through appropriations included in the budget of the DOJ: Provided, further, That when the
amount being supported by the said funding source shall have been also included in the General
Appropriations, the fees authorized under said Section 3 shall no longer be collected.
Section 21. Retirement Benefits. - When a prosecutor, who has rendered at least fifteen (15) years
of service either in the National Prosecution Service or in any branch of government, or in both,
retires for having attained the age of sixty-five (65) years or resigns by reason of incapacity to
discharge the duties of his/her office, he/she shall, during the residue of his/her natural life, in the
manner hereinafter Provided, receive a retirement pension based on the highest monthly salary, plus
the highest monthly aggregate of transportation, living and representation allowances, which he/she
was receiving at the time of his/her retirement or resignation.
When a prosecutor has attained the age of sixty (60) years and has rendered at least fifteen (15)
years of service in government, the last five (5) years of which must have been continuously
rendered in the prosecution service, he/she shall likewise be entitled to retire and receive during the
residue of his/her natural life the same benefits Provided for in this section: Provided, however, that
those with less than fifteen (15) years of service in the government shall be entitled to a pro-rata
pension computed as follows:
No. of years
Basic Pay Plus the Highest Monthly
In Government
Aggregate of Transportation, Living and
Representation Allowances
15 years
Section 22. Conditions. - To maintain entitlement to the pension herein Provided, no prosecutor,
during the time he/she is receiving said pension, shall appear as counsel before any judicial or
quasi-judicial or quasi-judicial agency in any civil case wherein the Government or any agency,
subdivision, or instrumentality thereof is an adverse party, or in any criminal case wherein any officer
or employee of the Government is accused of an offense committed in relation to his/her office, or
collect any fee for his/her appearance in any administrative proceedings to maintain an interest
adverse to the government , whether national, provincial, or municipal or to any of its legally
constituted officers. When a prosecutor covered under this Act shall assume an elective public
office, he/she shall not, upon assumption of office and during his/her term, retrieve the monthly
pension or any of the allowance due to him/her.
Section 23. Automatic Increase. - All pension benefits of retired prosecutors of the National
Prosecution Service shall be automatically increased whenever there is an increase n the salary and
allowance of the same position from which he retired.
Section 24. Retroactivity. - The benefits mentioned in Sections 14 and 16 hereof shall be granted to
all those who retired prior to the effectivity of this Act.
Section 25. Applicability. - All benefits heretofore extended under Republic Act No. 910, as
amended, and all other benefits that may be extended by the way of amendment thereto shall
likewise be given to the prosecutors covered by this Act.
Section 26. Appropriation. - There is hereby appropriated initially the sum of Fifty million pesos
(P50,000,000.00) from the funds of the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated for the
organization and operational expenses of the Office of the Prosecutor General for a period of one (1)
year form the effectivity of this Act. The said amount shall be added to the annual budget of the DOJ.
Section 27. Repealing Clause. - All acts, laws, decrees, executive orders, letters of instructions and
regulations or any part thereof which are inconsistent with any provision of this Act are hereby
repealed and/or modified accordingly.
Section 28. Separability Clause. - If for any reason, any selection or provision of his Act is declared
to be unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions of this Act which are not affected
shall continue in full force and effect.
Section 29. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its publication in at
least two (2) newspapers of general circulation or in the Official Gazette.
(Sgd.) PROSPERO C. NOGRALES (Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE
Speaker of the House of Representatives President of the Senate
This Act was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on August 24, 2009 and
January 26, 2010, respectively.
Approved: